The effect of oxygen in wines is usually considered to be detrimental to their quality, and therefore exposure of wines to oxygen is in general to be avoided. However, there are some cases when the introduction of air or oxygen, (or other gases or liquids) into wine is desirable. One of such cases is during the process of fermentation. Controlled mixing of air or oxygen into the must during fermentation has been found to be beneficial to the fermentation process and the flavor of the wine.
One method of introducing air or oxygen into the must is using a combination of a pump-over mechanism with an in-line Venturi device. One example of a pump-over mechanism is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/478,269 filed Sep. 5, 2014 and entitled “WINE PUMP-OVER DEVICE”, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. A Venturi device utilizes the Venturi effect, whereby the pressure of a fluid flowing through a pipe is reduced when the fluid passes through a constricted section of the pipe. The pressure differential between the pipe section before the constricted section and after the constricted section causes a secondary fluid (i.e., air) to be pulled into the pipe and become entrained and mixed with the stream of the fluid.
Most of the currently available Venturi devices used in the wine making industry are made either of stainless steel or polymeric materials such as Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or Ethylene ChloroTriFluoroEthylene (ECTFE). These materials are used because of their high purity, their resistance to chemicals and because they are inert and corrosion resistant. Polymeric material based Venturi devices are relatively inexpensive, but usually prone to breaks. Steel based Venturi devices are usually expensive, break resistant, and suitable for high strength applications. It is desirable to have an inexpensive Venturi device that is easy to clean, maintain and assemble and is compatible with the wine making and food processing procedures.